Welcome to Review of Optometry's Practice Pearl of the Week series. Optometrist Paul Karpecki will provide you invaluable clinical information and management strategies for a host of ocular conditions—from dry eye and corneal infection to retinal artery occlusion and neuro-ophthalmic disease.

Instruct your patients to put their allergy drops in the refrigerator. Although this pearl has been around a long time and I have no idea who to give the credit to, it is still a valuable suggestion. Cooling the drops down to average refrigerator temperatures (36° to 42°) shouldn't affect the drops' consistency in most cases. (Just be sure not to allow the drops to freeze.)

Here are several benefits to refrigerating allergy drops:

• Cold or cool allergy drops may help combat edema that is often associated with allergic eye disease.
• In turn, patients generally are more compliant with drop usage because of the added anti-inflammatory effect.
• Also, when allergy drops physically feel cold, patients are able to more easily determine if the drop actually went into their eye.

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